Tuesday, October 23, 2012

October Haunting - The Screaming Tunnel

Exterior of the Screaming Tunnel

Many flock to Niagra Falls to bare witness to its romantic setting. However, its beauty doesn't overshadow a local legend. The tunnel is located in the northwest end of Niagra Falls and was originally built to be a rail tunnel in the early 1900s. The only problem was the Grand Trunk Railroad went bankrupt after World War I and it was never finished. Even though the tunnel was abandoned it would never be forgotten.

Over a century ago, a farm house located near the tunnel caught fire one night. A girl, clothes engulfed in flames, ran screaming from the house into the tunnel in the attempts of putting it out. Unfortunately, she collapsed and died inside the tunnel. There are variations to this story.

An interior shot of the Tunnel

One states an enraged father sat his daughter on fire in the tunnel after learning his wife was rewarded custody of their kids in a nasty divorce battle. Another story reports that a young girl was raped inside the tunnel and her body was burned to cover the evidence. No one knows which version if any are true. However, what is known is that someone did die in the tunnel.

It was dubbed the Screaming Tunnel because they say if you stand in it and light a match you will hear a scream before the flame goes out.